.

My Backyard 

.

The Campfire

Elisha loves to build a fire;
His dog is near, she loves to watch
For birds that she will try to catch.
They each pursue their own desire—
One by her leaps, one with a match.

.

The Dog House

The dog house over years has held
Not only pups but ducks and hens
And cats and kittens. One time when
The time came for our dog to whelp
She stayed there while she birthed her ten!

.

The Birds

Around my house the small birds fly,
The sparrows and the chickadees
Constructing nests and finding seeds.
Though by their nature they are shy
They’ll feed near me to meet their needs.

.

The Trail 

I look out where the pine trees part
To make a pathway in the woods
A covert spot for timid harts.
The squirrels from nut to acorn dart
Ensuring they have winter food.

.

The Chicken Coop

My oldest son once built a coop
Upon the hill behind my home.
My window lets me view the group
Of silkie bantams as they roam.
The roosters I’ll turn into soup.

.

.

Ecclesiastes Rhymes

.

Tapestry of Life

His ways to man are mysteries unknown.
Secretly together He entwines
The victories, defeats and highs and lows
To weave complete life’s tapestry in time.

—Ecclesiastes 3:11

.

God’s Gifts

To enjoy the good of work and toil,
Home and health and thy beloved’s kiss,
Bread and wine and finest olive oil,
Is from the Lord to man a precious gift.

—Ecclesiastes 3:13

.

The Fool

You know him by his multitude of words,
Each sentence digs him deeper in the ground,
When put to speech his thoughts are most absurd.
He’ll be where fools and folly both are found.

—Ecclesiastes 5:3b

.

A Good Night’s Sleep

A man may rest upon a bed of feathers
Or he might have a pillow made of stone.
But sweetness of his sleep depends on whether
He labored well or was a lazy-bones.

—Ecclesiastes 5:12a

.

.

Gigi Ryan is a wife, mother, grandmother, and home educator. She lives in rural Tennessee.

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4 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Gigi, this is a fascinating collection of poems that reflective and heartwarming. Your backyard was like mine growing up on a farm including turning the rooster into soup! I really enjoyed the short poems as well from Ecclesiastes. Each one is a great lesson for living and a precious rhyming poem.

    Reply
  2. Warren Bonham

    All of these were excellent. You can’t go wrong with anything out of Ecclesiastes, but I particularly enjoyed the sneak peek at your backyard. The 5-line format worked very well with a real zinger ending each one.

    Reply
  3. Joseph S. Salemi

    The first poem is a series of vignettes, and might well accompany snapshots or small drawings. Such poetic vignettes were common in early printed books, where they served as captions or thumbnail descriptions of an engraving or woodcut. Here the poems are narrative/descriptive.

    The “Ecclesiastes Rhymes” are what might be called “encapsulations” of the text references that follow each one. They take the scriptural text’s meaning, and either restate it different terms,, or develop it more fully, or both. Here the poems are explicatory.

    I hope this verbose comment doesn’t make me The Fool of Ecclesiastes 5:3b.

    Reply

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